Lifetime health Cover?

**Marley&Me** · May 5th, 2014, 02:21 PM

I just received a letter about LHC (lifetime health cover) Since I am now 31 years of age I have until July 1st to get private health. (I'm assuming this is what it all means) I don't have PHI and wasn't intending on getting it either. Quite frankly I just can't afford something like PHI and even if I had have taken it out when I was younger, I don't think I would have actually used it yet anyway. So what happens if you can't afford it? You just get slugged with the extra 2% for every year that I wait? This sounds ridiculous to me. I am not impressed

**sahbear** · May 5th, 2014, 02:45 PM

Yes, this relates to hospital cover only - not "extras" from my understanding.

This explains it quite well http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/heal...ealthcover.htm

**RainbowRiver** · May 5th, 2014, 03:00 PM

I received a letter about this today too. I have until June to sort it out. We are in no position to get PHI, so guess I'll just suffer the outcome

**Marley&Me** · May 5th, 2014, 03:08 PM

It's so unfair

There is just no room for ANOTHER monthly direct debit in our household.

**Olive** · May 5th, 2014, 04:09 PM

It's been like that for years so I don't really get why you're upset about it

if you can't afford it don't get it.

**beansbeans!** · May 5th, 2014, 04:11 PM

Dh got this letter today, even though we have cover. We get ours taken out fornightly and I think just hospital cover costs our family about 40-50 a month, it's the extras that are costly.
The reason why I will try to never drop it is because of how expensive an accident can be, and that's just looking at the ambo costs, let alone any other treatment.

**Olive** · May 5th, 2014, 04:14 PM

I'll never drop ours either, we only have basic cover, a few years ago we claimed over 11k for admissions/operations, had we not had it we would have had to wait for public or pay $$$ out of pocket

**Marley&Me** · May 5th, 2014, 04:41 PM

While it would be nice, we just can't afford it right now. I was under the impression it would only affect us if we earnt over $150K (pfft, we wish) Or am I thinking of something different...

Oh and we have ambulance cover. $80 a year is reasonable.

**RainbowRiver** · May 5th, 2014, 04:55 PM

Ambulance cover was a must for us.
I was in a car accident a few years ago (along with 3 kids + another adult), 3 of us needed the ambulance, each received a $980 bill. TAC paid them all, but had we had to, at least cover would have saved us just under $3k